From November 9 to 12, Accor held a convention in Marseille for its hotel franchise partners, under the leadership of Christophe Alaux, Chief Operating Officer, Accor Hospitality France. Reaffirming its firm intention of remaining the country’s leading hotel franchiser, Accor announced the opening of at least 200 hotels throughout France over the next four years.
Four Sofitel hotels have obtained their 5th star, based on the new French hotel classification. These are the Sofitel Lyon Bellecour, Sofitel Vieux-Port Marseille, Sofitel Paris La Défense and the Sofitel Biarritz Le Miramar Thalassa. This is a great recognition for Sofitel, which naturally nourishes its ambition to become the leading French and European ambassador of the international hotel profession.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today announces the debut of its renowned The Luxury Collection brand in Russia, with the joining of Hotel National, A Luxury Collection Hotel. Following the first phase of a significant renovation to the hotel’s guest rooms and public spaces, the iconic Moscow hotel has joined The Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts, a glittering ensemble of more than 70 of the world’s finest hotels and resorts
“We intend to grow our business in the meetings market and will be looking to recruit one or two key people to help with this,” said CEO, Ian Burnley. “The meetings market is obviously very flat at the moment but our long term growth plans remain in place and we hope to find the right people to add to the team during the autumn.”
Scandic Julia will undergo a full-scale renovation and extension, during which the hotel will be closed for 18 months starting from 1 December 2009. The result will be a hotel catering for the modern lifestyle and the conscious guest seeking smart solutions. Following the renovation, a modern hotel will open in central Turku during the spring of 2011. The new Scandic Julia will feature 155 inspiring and air-conditioned rooms, state-of-the-art conference facilities, and a restaurant. The hotel guests will also have a Scandic gym, two saunas and a garage at their disposal.
Meliá Palácio de Lousã Boutique Hotel, el primero de su clase en Portugal de la cadena Sol Meliá, utiliza el innovador servicio de la empresa GuestCentric Systems para optimizar su presencia online e incrementar las reservas online directas. Los servicios integrados de GuestCentric proporcionan a hoteles con herramientas online de marketing y distribución a precios accesibles.
Franchise owners of Golden Tulip hotels said on Wednesday they want to buy the Golden Tulip brand name after the hospitality group said it was going into voluntary receivership, Dutch news agency ANP reported. Golden Tulip, which owns 60 hotels directly with an additional 720 franchised or affiliated across more than 50 countries, said on Tuesday declining occupancy rates and the cost of investing in new hotels had led to a money-losingsituation.